There's no doubt that it's harder as a small business / individual to make headway in advertising your business on Facebook these days, your reach number get smaller or don't grow much, you don't get all those likes you used to get... You wonder what you've done wrong...

Likes ain't everything, reach certainly helps, but there's one thing you've got to remember to do and that's to look after the people that have already 'liked' you, that said, here are a few really simple tips to help you out with your social media efforts, maybe you'll reach a few extra people and get that lovely smile back that you once had.

1. Timing is everything...I've found that it's good to think about when you're posting your stuff. A small example would be, if you're a small business (say, creative) in Australia and you get this ace piece of content ready and then post it when you've finished it, you know, at ONE AM... Who in Australia is going to see it? Sure, if you're aiming for the morning tea crowd in New York or the afternoon break crowd in London, post away, but if you're after local market - maybe wait until you think they're online. Going a little further, think about silly things like this; Someone that goes to work isn't going to go right to their desk at 9am and jump on Facebook, they might do something like grab a cup of coffee, get to their desk at 8:45, have a quick browse and then strap in for the work day - so aim for when it makes sense that they will see your content. If you don't know what time it is where, use this - it's great www.worldtimebuddy.com

2. Re-Invigorating content...There's nothing wrong with "re-invigorating" content... Though, rather than simply re-sharing it to your page, it's best if you can use interaction to bring it back to life. When someone likes or comments on your content, it jumps back up the news feed and when it does, there's a chance it to be seen again, so, if someone comments on your content BUMP up it goes, then when you reply you have the same effect - so think about this: if your content is getting comments, use those comments to help put you back in front of people, maybe wait a bit to reply (obviously if it's something that needs replying to, reply right away) and then stick a comment in - wait for another hours or two, or if you're a global brand, wait until another time zone comes alive (if you can)

3. Links, not always...There are a few 'rules' regarding social media marketing, and they're mostly just made up - so I'd say make your own rules and stick to them if they're working for you. But, one I do try to stick to is the 5:3:2 rule... (many variations... but I'm currently with, roughly, 5:3:2) What the hell is the 5:3:2 rule? Well, it's pretty simply - 5 bits of curated content from relevant sources within your industry, 3 bits of content you've created directly related to your brand and 2 bits of fun - something to attempt a bit of "human" within your marketing messaging... Sure, it doesn't always work like this - but what I'm saying is don't ever use the ME ME ME ME ME ME model. Ain't nobody got time fo dat.

4. Support is important...Point two was about holding fire, waiting a little before you reply... But there's nothing more frustrating for someone that not getting a reply to their social media question - sure, people don't think that we're not all 24/7 or that a small company would only have someone on deck for a couple hours a day. And not just getting an answer a day later (I always try for within 24 hours, usually a lot sooner, but you never know when someone's going to ask a question) Social Media in 2016 is as much a support channel as it is a social network for sharing cute cat pictures - If your customers can't find what they want on your website and it's out of hours, there's a good chance they're going to hit your social media and try their luck - you could use the auto-response feature within Facebook's messaging to let them know you're listening and that you will be in touch, but that doesn't work for page posts or comments by others, so keep your eyes open and make sure everyone gets a reply or a little loving like.

Well, they're four pretty simple tips (tips within tips) that you can adapt to your own brand and have a try with. I'd love to know if you're either doing these things or you're going to try them - feel free to leave a comment or find me on some form of social media, I might even reply!